Blog Archives

The South Australian Legislative Review Committee is conducting an inquiry into the Criminal Law Consolidation (Provocation) Amendment Bill 2013 introduced by Greens MLC, Tammy Franks. The Bill seeks to amend the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (SA) so that the partial defence to provocation cannot be used to reduce a charge of murder to manslaughter […]

In this post Adelaide Law School’s Kellie Toole examines the issue of legal representation for victims of crime. This article was originally published on The Conversation. The South Australian Commissioner for Victims’ Rights, Michael O’Connell, recently called for victims of crime to have their own lawyers at the time that criminal defendants are sentenced. […]

A Victorian parliamentary committee has recommended against the imposition of criminal penalties on people who protected child sex abusers in the past. Adelaide Law School’s Kellie Toole says this is an affront to both victims and the community. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has just heard allegations that boys in […]

This month, the Greens introduced a Bill into the South Australian Parliament to prohibit the use of the ‘gay panic’ defence in the State. In this post, Adelaide Law School’s Kellie Toole considers the value of the amendment. Picture this: Peter is in a bar enjoying a few drinks. Sally has been watching him from across […]

Convenor of the Public Law Research Community at the Adelaide Law School, Dr Gabrielle Appleby attempts to answer the question of what makes law ‘public’? As the convener of the Public Law Research Community I have often been asked what is ‘public law’. My response is that I have always thought of public law broadly, […]

Many of the Australian States have addressed the circumstance of when a defendant is found not guilty but evidence re-analysed years later implicates them in a rape or murder by allowing the State to retry the defendant. However, in an Australian first, South Australia has recently passed legislation that brings a similar right to convicted […]

A number of recent South Australian Bills have proposed changes to evidence law that would allow idenitity evidence to be admitted to court when it has been obtained other than through a live line-up. Adelaide Law School’s Kellie Toole considers whether the proposed changes balance the imperatives of ensuring the defendant’s right to a fair trial and […]